In pictures: Ice-bound ship Shokalskiy in Antarctica
- Published
The BBC's Andrew Luck-Baker was aboard the Akademik Shokalskiy research vessel which has been trapped in Antarctic ice. He documented the experience and took these pictures in the hours leading up to the rescue operation.
The Shokalskiy was trapped by thick sheets of ice driven by strong winds, about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart - the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania.
The expedition leader Greg Mortimer and colleague Ben Fisk are seen here looking out from the bridge of the ship towards the Australian and Chinese icebreakers that have come to their rescue.
This picture shows a iceberg sighted from the top deck of the Shokalskiy, stuck in the ice since 24 December.
Expedition members prepared a helipad on the ice ahead of the rescue operation.